Pepsi
by Brainiac5
Summary: It all started when Storm Shadow was forced to spend "quality bonding time" with Kamakura. Before they know it, they're both caught up in another Cobra plot- one that might just succeed... Sigma 6 'verse, R&R peoples!
1. Snake Eyes' Fault

**Chapter 1: Snake Eyes' Fault**

**  
**It was supposed to be a retreat. We were supposed to go on a ridiculously long hike in the middle of the mountains and learn something_. _I was supposed to _somehow_ teach Kamakura a little about what I thought I knew about being a ninja. But if anyone had seen us by the end, they would have thought something totally different. I swear it was all Snake Eyes' fault.

Really! I mean, Kamakura is his apprentice. But he somehow roped me into this deal that both of us got one of his apprentices, and we were going to hike up opposite sides of a mountain. Once we'd generally killed ourselves walking uphill for days, we'd be meeting at the top. If one of us got there and waited a whole day, and the other group still didn't show, you would head back to the bottom of the mountain and wait to rub the fact that you'd won in the other team's face when they arrived.

Well, seeing as he hadn't gone anywhere remotely mountainous for awhile, I was confident that if nothing else, I could beat Snake Eyes at mountain climbing. In fact, I was so confident that I had even chosen the more difficult side.

I confiscated all of Kamakura's unnecessary equipment before we left for the mountain and chewed him out about it all the way there. When we arrived I searched him again and realized he'd stashed extra food and even a pillow in his backpack instead of water. I shoved them back in his backpack and spent the next two hours traveling uphill lecturing him on the danger of replacing water with pop tarts and trail mix. We had no hiking trail, so we bulldozed our way through several thousand bushes, trees and various other things that tend to live in forests.

Finally, when I had run out of things to say about water and a certain apprentices' lack of it, I turned around and leaned against the closest tree. "How about a break?" I suggested.

He sat down on a rock, looking frustrated. That's not really surprising. I've never really liked lectures myself, if I'm not the one giving them. "What?" he sighed.

"This is our first training spot. I want you to put this on," I said, flourishing a bright red poncho, "And sneak up on me while I'm looking at you. You can use trees and boulders, just don't let me see the red."

He nodded and stood. "Great. No problem."

I wasn't sure if that was sarcasm or not- maybe he was just grumpy still. "Oh, and no covering up the poncho with dirt or leaves or whatever. Use your skills, nothing else."

He nodded and left. I leaned against a tree and closed my eyes.

"Kamakura!" I shouted, "You can start now!" I glanced into the forest occasionally. I mean, if Snake Eyes was expecting me to actually train his apprentice, I wasn't being bribed enough. Kamakura and I have issues when it comes to most anything. Maybe it has something to do with my past attempts to murder his sensei. (Hey, I never said I was a psychologist...) As I glanced into the forest for the third time in a minute, I thought I saw…. Nope, just a red bird.

I turned and refocused on the trees. Just then, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned, and there was Kamakura. He cleared his throat. "I couldn't get any closer, so I slipped off to the side about fifteen feet ago…only because there was no cover. Does it still count?"

I nodded. "On one condition."

"What?"

"Take off that poncho. It's frying my eyes," I crabbed.

Kamakura rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said, pulling it off. Well, sort of. It got caught on his backpack and tore in half. "Oops. Um, sorry Sensei, I ripped my poncho."

_No kidding, _I thought. _Oh, well_. I shrugged. "That's ok. We're not going to need it again anyway." At least, I hoped not…

* * *

"Storm Shadow," Kamakura ventured, "Shouldn't we be setting up camp?"

"Not yet," I said shortly. The hill was getting steeper, and I was going to save my breath for the real challenge, up ahead. We'd probably reach it around mid-afternoon the next day. Now I know this sounds ridiculous, and maybe it was just an excuse not to talk to Snake Eyes' stupid apprentice, but let's just ignore that implication…

I stopped at a clearing. "Okay," I said, "This is where we stay."

"Are we setting up a tent?" Kamakura glanced at my backpack, obviously wondering what I had in there besides water. Unfortunately for him, I didn't have a tent.

I pulled it off and thunked it on the ground. "Actually, we're going to lay down a blanket, pull another one over us, and ignore the mosquitoes." I pulled out two blankets, threw one haphazardly on the ground, draped the other one over my legs, closed my eyes and tried to doze off. Unfortunately, Kamakura had other plans.

"Perfect," Kamakura snorted, "I get to sleep on the _cold,_ _hard_ ground, with only _two blankets?!"_

"Yes, now shut up. I'm trying to sleep," I shot back.

Kamakura muttered something unintelligible. Then, pulling two blankets out of his pack he spent fifteen minutes getting them perfectly smooth and then pulled out his pillow. He flopped down and lay still for about fifteen seconds. Then he shifted over to his side. And then rolled on his back. Then his stomach again. "I can't get comfortable." He whispered, rolling back onto his side.

"Too bad," I snapped, "Stay on your bed."

"What bed?! If this is a bed than I'm a--!"

"Moron? Idiot? Oversized rat?" I suggested helpfully.

"Never mind," Kamakura muttered, rolling over, and shifting around again. Then he sat up, re-smoothed his blankets, plopped down and shifted again. "Can I have a pop tart?"

"No," I said. "I wish you'd thrown them away. I hate pop tarts."

"There aren't any garbage cans in the middle of the forest, and-- you hate pop tarts?" Kamakura asked, intrigued.

I sighed. "Shut up and lie still."

"But I'm hungry. Can't I eat something? Pop-tart... please?"

"No!" I snapped.

"Trail mix?" He wheedled.

"No."

"Water?"

"Not unless you don't want it tomorrow," I snarled, turning my head to glare at him.

"Can I _please_ get up, or do I have to stay flat on my back? I have a rock poking my butt!" He snapped, squiggling on his back like a worm.

"Too bad!" I hissed. "Deal with it!"

"I would, but I'm too busy lying _still!"_ He snapped. He finally stopped moving, and soon his breathing settled into a rhythm I easily recognized as deep sleep.

I was finally alone, unbothered. And I was happy to simply lie awake and contemplate the many constellations wandering on their paths in the skies above.

* * *

I awoke just before sunrise the next morning and immediately headed off to find some sort of nutrition- we weren't all that high up in the mountain, and we needed to save the food for when we might need it. I returned to where Kamakura and out backpacks were, and sighed. Why was he still asleep? I'd hoped he'd woken up, maybe made a fire, or _something._Ah well. At least he wasn't eating pop-tarts.

"Kamakura," I whispered, shaking him, probably a bit more roughly than Snake Eyes would, but you wouldn't catch me losing any sleep over that.

"Mmm."

"Kamakura, get up!" I snapped, resorting to kicking him awake. What was he, a rock?!

"Mmm…"

"Kamakura, you _don't_ want to see how I wake up disobedient apprentices," I snapped, aiming a particularly hard kick in the general direction of his groin…

One eye popped open and saw my foot chambered, ready to fly loose. "I'm up, I'm up!" Kamakura exclaimed, squirming, half sitting and promptly falling back over again in a tangle of limbs.

It was so pathetic I almost cried. How the heck did he ever expect to be a ninja if he slept like a slab of granite?! Trust me, no enemy's just going to stand there and wait until you've had your _beauty sleep._

"Glad to see you finally figured out what's good for you," I snapped, handing him some of the food --If you could call it that-- that I had gathered. I swear, if he dared to whine…

"What's this stuff?" Kamakura asked, wrinkling his nose, glancing longingly at his pack, full of pop-tarts…

"Breakfast. Eat it." I snapped, shoving the rest in his hand until the berries smushed against the leaves, leaving a berry paste of goo on his hand. He could lick it off if he wanted, I didn't particularly care.

"Thanks…" he mumbled, eyeing the plants warily.

"Don't worry," I sighed, "They're perfectly fine."

"I prefer meat," Kamakura muttered irritably. Well pardon me, your majesty, so sorry for awaking you before your normal rising hour. Don't blame me for this, blame your precious Sensei, Snake Eyes. After all, that's what I always do…

"I don't care if you think vegetables are the most effective torture device in third-world nations, or whatever. Eat them. Now."

"Don't we have trail mix, and dried fruit and stuff?" he demanded, glaring at me.

"We're saving that for when there aren't other options," I replied, barely refraining from adding the phrase 'duh' to the end of my sentence. "Now, come on, let's get going," I said, standing.

* * *

A/N: Well then... this is kind of a random story idea I've had for awhile... sorry if it's OOC... I'm trying to combat that in practically everything I do. Anyway, please review, and tell me what's awesome and what's not... please? Thanks, in advance. Ooh yeah... you can make up your own reasons as to why Stormy's good... and asterisk78, you be the AWESOMEST BETA THIS SIDE OF... eh, dunno where I was going with that, but you're great nonetheless!! (woo-hoo!!)


	2. Poptarts and Other Problems

**Chapter 2: Pop-Tarts and Other Problems**

It was mid-afternoon and we had finally left the forest behind. Now we were plodding along among sparse shrubs that grew in rock crevices and cracks, while the sun beat down on us mercilessly. The trail was much steeper, and it was all Kamakura could do to keep from falling onto his hands and knees and _crawling_ up the mountain. Of course, my dragging him might have had something to do with the matter, but enough of that.

"Sensei," Kamakura panted, trying to fall on his knees.

"Don't talk," I hissed, grabbing his hair and pulling him up.

"Ow! Ow!" Kamakura batted at my hands.

"No stopping. No panting. Stop whining," I insisted, angrily pulling him along. As if it wasn't enough for me to have to lug _both_ backpacks, I also had to drag Snake Eyes' apprentice around.

Whatever I was being paid for this, it wasn't enough.

"Thirsty…" Kamakura tried, glancing at the backpacks longingly.

"Stream," I said, indicating up ahead. According to the map, there should be a stream just ahead. I didn't necessarily have the map at the moment, but I had pulled it out earlier when Kamakura had decided to walk on his own for a few minutes.

"But--" Kamakura whined, slowing.

"No." I answered, grabbing his arm and dragging him again. Sighing, I shook my head. His canteen was empty, and mine was too. And we were not going to get the extra water in my backpack. That was for emergencies only. And with a stream ahead, this was no emergency. Unless the water were, say, poisoned. Highly unlikely, especially since I'd climbed this side two days ago when I decided which side I wanted.

Kamakura struggled up the last leg of the journey and joined me near the wall.

"There's no stream." Kamakura noted, slightly miffed.

"Of course there is," I said, glancing around. Where had that cave gone, anyhow? I'd found it before, so...

"Maybe…" Kamakura said, looking at the mountainside with interest.

"That cave over there," I said, pointing as I located the spot, directly behind Kamakura.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Kamakura murmured sheepishly, following me towards the opening.

I stopped him in front of the entrance and pulled out two headlamps I'd packed in my backpack. "Here," I said, "Put this on, and try not to look at me once you turn it on."

"Why?" he asked, pulling it over his forehead.

"Because if you look at me and I look at you, your light shines in my eyes and mine in yours," I said. "I don't want to be blinded by your light and keep having to let my eyes adjust. It gets frustrating."

"Oh, okay," Kamakura said amiably, stepping into the cave. "It's kind of dark in here…" he commented a moment later.

I rolled my eyes. "Turn on your headlamp, bozo."

"Ok, um…" he turned in my direction.

"Ow! Don't look at me!" I snapped, shading my eyes. Hadn't I just told him this?!

"Sorry," Kamakura apologized quickly.

"Now I have to wait until my eyes adjust again," I grumbled.

"I said I was sorry," Kamakura muttered.

"Sorry doesn't change the situation," I snapped. I would know, after all. One mistake can change your life forever- and in my case, definitely not for the better.

Kamakura sighed. "Yeah, you're right."

"Of course I'm right. That's why I'm the Sensei," I replied, moving further into the cave.

"Yeah, yeah, I've never heard that one before," Kamakura snapped.

"Hey, watch the tone, and don't—ow…look at me," I sighed. "I can't keep my eyes straight ahead and figure out where we're going if you keep getting in front of me and look back here," I informed him coldly.

"Sorry," Kamakura apologized again.

"Just try thinking next time," I suggested angrily.

"I know," Kamakura scowled in my direction, lights shining in my eyes again.

This time, I didn't bother saying anything. I just sighed, long and hard.

"I think I hear water!" Kamakura said excitedly, bounding ahead, light beam dancing wildly.

"Yeah, you do," I said slowly, looking around. "This is the cavern."

"Cool!" Kamakura exclaimed, still bouncing around like a jackrabbit on caffeine.

"Yep. There's the stream, over there," I pointed. "It should be okay to drink from."

"Where is it?" Kamakura asked, no longer bouncing, instead looking at me.

"Over there, to the right, and stop looking at me! Kamakura, watch that headlamp if you're going to wear it!" I snapped angrily.

"Sorry," Kamakura muttered, moving in the direction of the stream. I followed, grateful I could still see after all of the damage my poor eyes had sustained.

We knelt beside the stream and drank deeply, each of us, in our own way, grateful for the moment of silence.

I stepped outside and took a deep breath of fresh air, noting the rapidly approaching dusk. After retrieving our packs from outside, where I'd dropped them to pull out the headlamps, I returned inside.

"We'll bed down here," I said, "It's got fresh water and it's getting dark."

"Sure, why not?" Kamakura muttered. "We'll sleep on solid rock tonight. It can't be that bad for your back, besides, we're young and able bodied. Or... well, one of us is," he finished, glancing at me to see if I'd noticed the jab.

I simply ignored him, instead dragging our packs to the back of the cavern and pulling out all of the blankets. "Yes, it's solid rock," I told Kamakura. "So no complaining about uncomfortable. I'm already aware of the fact."

"Fine," Kamakura muttered. "Um, I'm hungry." He looked at me pleadingly and opened his mouth to ask the dreaded question.

"No, pop tarts, no trail mix." I said quickly.

Kamakura slumped in defeat, and began rummaging through his bag. "Dried fruit?" he asked hopefully.

I dug through my pack. Where was it… Ah-ha! "Here." I handed him a chunk of homemade beef jerky.

Kamakura studied it thoroughly. He brought it to his nose and sniffed it. I shook my head and bit into mine. Mmm… I watched Kamakura as he carefully touched the tip of it to his tongue, bit off a little bit and chewed it carefully. His face brightened and he turned to me. "Wow, this is really good! Where'd you get it?"

"It's an old family recipe," I answered, spreading my blankets.

"Meaning…" Kamakura hinted.

I thought about that. _A lot of soy sauce, about five cloves of garlic, some… other stuff… _I realized I didn't remember how I had made the stuff that I was _going_ to try and get made into an old family recipe and answered him. "...Meaning I made it myself, and don't remember exactly how. So enjoy it while it lasts." I said.

"Oh," he thought this over. "Did Snake Eyes and Jinx get some of this?"

"Um, no. Not unless Jinx made up some of her own. This wasn't exactly on the packing list," I answered.

"So we have extra supplies?"

"As long as we're carrying it, I don't see the problem with extra food." _Or extra water. Especially if you're hiking with the walking stomach…_"Hmm, yeah, you've got a point there." Kamakura said thoughtfully, eating the rest in a few gulps. "How come Pop-tarts don't count?"

I sighed. "Because pop-tarts are the epitome of evil, that's why."

"Oh. Can I have more of the family recipe stuff?"

"No," I sighed and pulled out the bag of dried fruits from my bag. "Here. Only a few, and don't forget to drink water."

Kamakura nodded and went to fill his canteen, and I sent mine with him. Let him work for his meal. I had already earned mine numerous times today. After all, doing things like heaving Kamakura off the ground and dragging him behind me by the hair when he went into his 'I'm going to die without food, water, rest, etc…' tantrum isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. So I was tired, grumpy and generally not in a good mood.

Kamakura returned with the water, and grabbed the bag of dried fruit eagerly.

"One handful," I told him quickly.

"I'll die!"

"Only if we run out of food. So go easy on it-- you can have all the food you little tummy desires when we get back."

Kamakura grabbed a handful, mumbling something about his tummy not being so 'little'.

After spreading out his blankets, getting them once again _perfectly_ smooth, Kamakura lay silently for a few minutes and then jumped up. "I have a suggestion." He said loudly, his voice echoing through the cavern

"What?" I demanded, plugging my ears.

"If we combine beds, we'll have more padding."

"And less room." I grumbled irritably. I don't like having to get up again after carrying naughty apprentices up steep mountains all day.

"It's a price I'm willing to pay!" Kamakura insisted.

Yeah, but what about my price, eh? "Okay, okay, fine. Just hurry up," I finally muttered, getting up again.

"Fine by me," Kamakura replied, fixing the blankets and then lying down in the exact center.  
"I need to lay down too," I snapped, poking him with my toe.

"Oh, sorry," he said, rolling over, then sitting up and re-smoothing the blankets.

I lay down and tried to ignore the fact that Kamakura was hogging the blankets…

A/N: Yay! Asterisk78, you are my hero at spotting capitals after dialogue and other buggy nitpicks that I miss through the first draft or so. Your work is always greatly appreciated. And you, reader who dared to make it this far-- you also are very appreciated!! (Sheesh! this sounds like a formal essay!) You're awesome, guys! Thanks especially to white-eyebrow for the review... I don't really know why Stormy doesn't like pop-tarts. I think because he likes to be a curmudgeon, and because Kamakura likes them, he must automatically _not_ like them. (Asterisk, your review was nice and helpful, thanks for reminding me to thank you. Sheesh. That just sounds wrong... anywho, you're awesome!!)


	3. CaveIns and Eating People

**Chapter 3: Cave-ins and Eating People**

I sat up, instantly awake. "Did you hear that?" I hissed.

"Hear what?" Kamakura asked, sitting up at hearing the urgency in my voice. A loud rumbling filled the cavern, along with the sounds of rock bits hitting the floor.

"It sounded like a large battle machine of some sort," Kamakura ventured after a moment. "Dunno what kind."

"Exactly," I said, listening. Suddenly, an explosion rocked through the cavern, shaking it like a giant had walked up and had started kicking the mountain. Kamakura and I grabbed each other and watched the roof. The rumbling continued, and the sound of rocks falling tore at our eardrums, but both of us sat frozen in shock. We were in pitch black darkness, completely unaware of what had just happened and where it had happened.

"Headlamps!" Kamakura muttered and grabbed his. The bright beam swathed through the darkness, revealing a large mound of rock where the stream had been. The light moved up to the top of the cavern.

There was no space for a person to crawl through, though perhaps a mouse, or small cat, anyway-- some tiny animal might have been able to get out, but it'd take days to dig out with our bare hands, I noted. We both stood and approached the huge obstruction.

"We're trapped," Kamakura noted calmly.

I nodded and turned to him. "Yep. We're stuck. There's probably no way to get out, and the transistor radios don't work in here."

"You're supposed to say we can get out of this!!" Kamakura cried, grabbing me. "We're going to die!!"

"_You're_ going to die, if you keep touching me!" I snapped, turning to examine the walls.

Kamakura let go and hugged himself, as if to reassure himself that someone cared. Either that or he was making sure nothing had been bitten off.

I walked around the room, examining the walls closely. There was a boulder towards one side of the room, and another one in the center of the cavern.

Kamakura sniffled.

"I think we'll be all right," I said, coming back to our makeshift camp. "We've got food, and water, and blankets." I considered something, then sighed. "We won't need to eat our unnecessary body parts," I said after a moment.

"What?!" Kamakura cried, aghast. He walked towards me until he was in my face, eyeing me warily as if I was a vampire, or something.

"Kamakura, you're in my face," I said. I snarled at him and snapped my teeth in his face, and he jumped as if he'd been bit. The look on his face was classic. I started laughing.

"You- You're mean!" he said, edging towards the other side of the camp.

"Boo-hoo. You can't go crying to Sensei this time," I said, walking towards him. He watched me until I sat down and grabbed my canteen and checked to make sure it hadn't cracked. Then I checked Kamakura's. It was good too. I nodded absently and checked the other supplies. Well, if we cut down as much as possible…

"I think we'll be able to make it for about a week-and a half if we ignore the pop tarts," I said.

"And with the pop tarts?" Kamakura asked.

"A weekend," I answered.

Kamakura eyed me. "I bet you wouldn't eat _people _rather than pop tarts!"

I considered that for a moment. "Well, if they're already dead…"

"Ew! You are sick! SICK!!" Kamakura cried, waving a finger in the air.

"That was an honest answer. I despise pop tarts," I said.

"STORM SHADOW IS SICK!!" he cried, running in tight circles.

"Quiet! You want to cause another cave-in?"

"EWW!! GROSS!! SICK!! YOU'D EAT PEOPLE?!"

"If they were already dead!"

"That's gross!"

"Be quiet or I'll eat you!"

"Eat me? Me?? YOU ARE SO SICK!!"

"chih," Something said.

I thought it was Kamakura, so his next comment surprised me. "What did you say?"

"That wasn't me."

"Chih," it said again. It sounded like chyih, I guess.

"Sensei… THERE'S SOMETHING IN HERE BESIDES US!!" Kamakura cried in panic, the light from his headlamp bobbing all over the known universe. Or at least all over the cave.

"Don't worry. It's probably just a mouse or something," I said, waiting for him to calm down. Sheesh, some ninja he was turning out to be.

"I've never heard a mouse that sounded like that!" Kamakura replied, still sounding more than a little panicked.

"Chi-ih…" It sounded more annoyed now.

Kamakura stepped back, glancing towards the floor. I thought I saw a small white patch on the floor… then it moved… Kamakura jumped, landing on the white thingy.

"CHIH!!" It cried.

Kamakura screamed and fell over. "It's on me!! AHHH!! GET IT OFF ME!!" he cried, jumping up and shaking his hand desperately.

He was looking everywhere at once, or so it seemed, the light from his headlamp was bouncing over the walls. During the small instances of illumination, I noted a small thingy was clinging to his hand furiously. "GET IT OFF!! IT'S POISONOUS!! MY ARM WILL SWELL UP AND YOU'LL HAVE TO CUT IT OFF!! AND THEN YOU'LL EAT IT, YOU SICKO!!" Kamakura screamed, nearing hysterics.

I grabbed his arm and quickly whacked the thing with my hand. It let out a whimper and dropped to the ground.

"Are you all right?" I asked Kamakura, who was cradling his hand. He stopped and looked at the ground, the light from his head lamp falling on the stricken creature lying on the ground. It resembled a cat, or caterpillar, or _something_. It really didn't look like anything I'd ever seen before. It was covered with fur. It sort of reminded me of a big, legged tribble, from Star Trek. It was small enough to cradle in your hands, and it was curled up into a ball.

"Fuzzy…" Kamakura murmured. He turned on me. "You killed the fuzzy!" he shouted accusingly.

"Who was the one screaming about cutting of arms and eating them?!" I defended myself.

"You killed the fuzzy!" Kamakura shouted again.

"Fine, I killed the fuzzy. Now be quiet and SIT DOWN!!" I shouted.

Kamakura stiffened and sat down, looking at the fuzzy.

I reached down and poked it.

"Don't _EAT_ it!" Kamakura cried.

"Hush!" I told him. I poked it again, then picked it up and brought it to my face.

Kamakura buried his face in his hands. "I can't watch!" Came the muffled response to my actions.

I held the -thing-fuzzy-whatever- anyhow, I held it to my ear. I heard a soft purring noise. I poked it again. "…chih…" It said quietly. I poked it again. "Chih…" It sounded annoyed. I pulled it away from my face and gently poked it again.

"CHIH!!" It suddenly shrieked and attacked my face with gusto.

"Ahh! Ahh! Get off!" I cried, grabbing it by it's torso- thing. It's four tiny legs still grappled with the air, giving it a comical look. "No, little fuzzy thingy. No attacking the nice ninja." I said slowly in a calming tone. This thing was highly amusing, though mostly it bordered on the annoying sort of amusing. The annoying-amusing sort of things never last long around me.

It's little swimming motions slowed, and I brought it closer to me. It started squirming and attacking again. "No!" I said loudly. It stopped and looked at me pathetically.

I brought it closer to me. It started to squirm. I tightened my hands and whispered "No." It stopped.

I brought it up to my chest and held it there, petting it. The fur was soft, like a cat's, or a bunny's. It started purring. "chih," It said softly. Kamakura tried to get closer. "Chi-ih…" It said warningly.

"Go away, Kamakura. He doesn't like you." I said. It wasn't quite so annoying anymore, just… feisty. We were dying soon anyway. What did it matter if I had a pet? No one would ever know, except Kamakura, and dead men tell no tales. "Now, we'll need to name you," I said to it.

"Chih," it said. I took that as a yes.

I frowned. What should I name it? Names never come easily to me. Shaking my head, I wracked my brain. "How about Bushveld Socrates?"

"Chi-ih…" it said, sounding annoyed. Okay, no.

"Um… tribble?"

"Chi-ih Ihi nahgbbb…" It said, spluttering at the end. I guessed that it really didn't like that name.

"Nigeria."

"Chi-ih."

"Abunai?"

"Chi-ih!" Didn't like that one either.

"Rodster Cantaloupe?"

"Chi-ih…?" It seemed to be asking me how I thought up _that_ ridiculous name.

"Be quiet! Um, how about… Pepsi?" I said the next random word that I thought of.

"Chih," It said softly, purring.

"All right, I christen you Pepsi." I said solemnly.

"I like 'Bob' better," Kamakura muttered.

"I like Pepsi. Pepsi's name is Pepsi. Isn't it, Pepsi?"

"Chih," Pepsi answered.

* * *

AN: And now we know why the fic is named Pepsi. Aren't we all glad? Yeah, so, expect more, and it'll get better than little fuzzy things and cave-ins, I promise. (Has anyone else noticed I use cave-ins as plot devices often? I'm not sure why... huh. I'll have to mull over that a bit...)


	4. Pepsi and the Annoying Apprentice

**Chapter 4: Pepsi and the Annoying Apprentice**

Here Pepsi, we can share food," I said, turning and offering him some dried fruit. Pepsi wasn't there. I turned around to see him digging through Kamakura's pack. "Hey! Get outta there!" I said angrily, pulling him out. He was clinging to a foil-wrapped object. A Pop-Tart.

"Never mind, Pepsi," I said, "You can have _that._"

"My pop tarts!" Kamakura cried.

"Chi-ih…" Pepsi said.

"You can have them," Kamakura amended.

"Chih," Pepsi said, crawling into my lap and curling up around the strawberry toaster pastry. I ate some dried fruit and watched Kamakura pout with undisguised amusement.

Kamakura watched Pepsi munch contentedly on the Pop-tart until he could stand it no more. "You love that thing more than me!"

"It's Pepsi, and maybe I do," I said. "But just remember, I'm not teaching Pepsi ninjitsu. I care enough about you to make sure you get a good education in the way of the ninja. Just remember that." Of course, not that any of what I said was true, but I don't like pouting apprentices. I'd seen Kamakura in a pouty mood before, and it isn't pretty.

Kamakura folded his arms. "You _do_ love Pepsi better! Why _else_ do you let him have pop-tarts?"

"You aren't thinking straight," I insisted. "Sometimes people do things that hurt to those they love-- I mean, to those they find more important than little fuzzy things."

"Oh," Kamakura murmured, glancing at the floor.

"You didn't know that?" I asked, wondering what the heck Snake Eyes _had_ been teaching him. This kid didn't seem to know _anything_!

"Actually, I do know, but I wasn't sure _you_ knew that. It's kind of… reassuring," Kamakura admitted.

"I'm glad you're reassured. Now let's get some sleep. It's not like we'll be able to do much else," I suggested.

"Okay," Kamakura agreed.

"Chih," Pepsi chihed.

"_Pepsi."_ Kamakura muttered, lying down. "I still think 'Bob' is better."

Sighing, I reached over and flicked off the one headlamp we'd had on, plunging the cave into darkness.

* * *

I opened my eyes to pitch dark and frowned. It shouldn't be dark. And what was-- A fuzzball thing… Wait… The cave in! Then I remembered. It _was_ morning, we just couldn't see the sunlight. After All, the rocks _would_ block what little light might have made it this far back.

"Kamakura-" I began, then stopped. It wasn't like we could do anything, anyway. Better to let him sleep. At least then he wouldn't be as grumpy as me. Carefully I flicked on a headlamp and set it on the floor, glancing around. "Pepsi?" I called softly, wondering if that part had been a dream. Little fuzzy things, indeed.

Then I heard little scampering footsteps, coming towards me. Pepsi jumped on me from behind and crawled up my left shoulder, his little claws digging into my back. "Ow, ow!" I said. I grabbed Pepsi off of my back and held him. He looked sad.

"Chiiih…" He repented.

"That's ok. Just be careful. Those things are sharp!" I said, poking his claws. I looked at him closely. "You aren't poisonous, are you?" I asked cautiously, hoping he wasn't

"Chih?"

"Um… never mind." Then I thought of something. "Are you even a he?"

"Chih…?"

"Um, I'm a he. Kamakura's a sissy, but still a he."

"Mmm?" Kamakura grunted from the blankets.

"Nothing, go back to sleep," I said quickly.

"Chih," the little guy- or girl- said, confused.

"Um… are you a mommy or a daddy?" I asked, looking Pepsi over carefully, completely aware I had no idea what to look for.

"Who are you talking to? This is sounding a bit disturbing," Kamakura commented.

"Shut up, Kamakura. Well, Pepsi?" I asked, glancing at the fuzzy thingy.

"Wait, you don't know if your beloved Pepsi's even a guy? What if he --or she--" Kamakura chuckled, "or is it neither?"

"I don't know! Now be quiet!" I snapped, glaring in the apprentice's general direction, while still trying to keep an eye on Pepsi.

Kamakura laughed as quietly as he could. Which, unfortunately, was still loud enough for me to hear.

"Just ignore the annoying apprentice, Pepsi," I said, "And try and figure out what I'm asking."

"Chih, chi-chih chih, chih chi-chi-chih," It said, squiggling its legs in the air like it was growing uncomfortable.

"Huh?"

"Pepsi has a limited vocabulary, Storm Shadow. It might take you years to understand him…her…it… ha, ha!!" Kamakura said, laughing so hard he choked.

"That's what you get for having a sense of humor," I said dourly.

"Maybe you could check underneath it," Kamakura suggested, gesturing at Pepsi, whose legs still grappled with the air comically.

"FYI, I already have checked underneath, and how am I supposed to judge from what I see? I've never seen one of these things before!" I snapped.

Kamakura started laughing all over again.

"Oh, just be quiet or I'll cut off your head and eat it!" I finally grumbled.

"You _had_ to ruin the moment!" Kamakura exclaimed. "You really _would_ cut off my head! And eat it! Oh, you're so nasty!!"

"Oh, just-- go fall in a cave-in!" I snapped.

"How do you fall in a cave-in?" Kamakura replied cheekily.

"I don't know, I've never done it before! Why don't you go first and find out?" I hissed.

"No thanks," Kamakura sniggered.

"THEN BE QUIET!!" I shouted.

"Fine, Grumpy," Kamakura muttered.

"What did you call me?" I demanded angrily.

"Nothin'," Kamakura muttered.

"You watch your attitude," I said, glaring at him.

"I don't think I'm the only one who needs to, frankly," Kamakura snapped, glaring at me. The bluish glow from the LED headlamp made his face slightly more intimidating, but not enough to bother me.

"Yeah, whatever," I said, leaning back against the wall.

"Wait, so that's it? 'Yeah, Whatever'?" Kamakura demanded.

"Yeah, so?" I snorted, glancing at him, "I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent."

"SHADDUP!!" Kamakura shouted, lunging at me.

"**CHIH!!"** Pepsi cried, running across the floor and disappearing.

Kamakura and I exchanged glances. "It's your fault," he snapped.

I sighed. "Not necessarily, oh brilliant one. In fact, I believe that--"

"Just stop being so hard to like!" Kamakura yelled. "Maybe, if you were nicer, people would trust you more!"

I narrowed my eyes. "What's that supposed to--"

"That's why we're here! Don't think I'm stupid," Kamakura insisted.

"I don't _think_ you're stupid--"

"We left to go on a trip to prove to Duke that you wouldn't run away!" Kamakura half-yelled, waving his arms.

I shook my head. "Kamakura, we came to--"

"We could have done all the training exercises we did at the base, you and I both know it," he snapped. "Now stop acting like a stuck-up know it all," Kamakura lowered his voice, "You may know more than me, but that doesn't mean a whole lot."

"I can't argue with--"

"And you may know more about some things than Snake Eyes, even… but that's not as hard as people make it out to be either. He's just so quiet people think he knows more than he does."

How insightful. And here I thought I was the only one who'd noticed this.

Kamakura sighed. "People may know a lot, but even Thomas Arashikage doesn't know everything. And I wish he'd stop acting like he did," he said sadly, laying back down and staring at the ceiling.

"Chih," Came a voice from the dark. Pepsi ran past me and jumped in Kamakura's lap, purring. I tried to pet him--her--it--.

"Chi-ih…" Pepsi growled.

"I think Pepsi responds selectively to different emotions," Kamakura said thoughtfully, glancing at me. "And right now… you've got hostility practically flowing from every pore."

I didn't have to take this! Growling, I stood and stalked across the room.

"Storm Shadow," Kamakura called after me, "You forgot your headlamp!"

So what? I didn't need--

Just as I thought the words, I walked into an overhanging rock shelf. Even that wouldn't have been so bad, if I hadn't tripped because it threw me off balance, as well as stunned me. And even then, it wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't tried to flip over, extending my arm to catch myself. I hit the ground hard, and the whiplash threw my head forward, where it struck the ground.

And if you think that was painful, the rock shelf I had bumped into must not have been very secure because of the cave-in. A few chunks of rock fell, just as I lifted my head to get up. One piece slammed into my skull and drove my head towards the floor where my forehead struck again, whisking away any remaining shred of consciousness.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Sorry this took so long to post, I just forgot to finish the last part...


	5. No really, I'm fine!

**Chapter 5: No really, I'm fine!**

"…_Sensei…"_

Hush. I'm sleeping.

"_Sensei!!"_

No. Go away.

Cold. Wet.

I spluttered, and awoke to see Kamakura's worried face looming over me.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

I opened my mouth to answer but couldn't. A wave of nausea rose up, and I felt like I was falling, falling… Blackness overcame my senses and I returned to the deep chasm of unconsciousness…

* * *

My heartbeat thudded a steady rhythm in my head. With each beat, a wave of blood. With each wave of blood, another rush of pain behind my eyes. And each rush of pain brought me nearer and nearer to consciousness, and more pain. I slowly opened my eyes, wincing. The light of a headlamp illuminated the area slightly, and I saw Kamakura. He sat still, staring at the wall, nibbling nervously on a pop tart.

"Hey," I said weakly. He jumped and glanced at me, worry written more plainly across his face than if he'd used a sharpie. "What did I tell you about eating those things?" I croaked.

"Chih!" Pepsi cried, jumping on me and attacking my face. No, not attacking. _Licking._

"Pepsi…" I groaned.

Kamakura knelt by me. "How's your head?"

I groaned again. "Must you remind me?"

Kamakura shook his head. "You were out for a long time," he said. "I was getting worried. I wasn't sure, but I was afraid you were getting a concussion." He said.

He grabbed the headlight and shined it in my eyes. "Aah!" I said, squinting.

"Don't," Kamakura said, pulling my eyes open. Then he sighed. "I thought so," He muttered. "Still no reaction."

"What?" I demanded, struggling to sit up, lifting my head from the makeshift pillow.

Kamakura absentmindedly pushed me back, shaking his head. "I can't believe it! Why here?" he cried, glancing at Pepsi in desperation.

"What?" I demanded a second time, wondering how the heck he could hold me down with one hand. I was stronger than _that._

"And in a cave, no less!" Kamakura continued, wailing at Pepsi. I expected an overflow of tears any second now.

"What?" I crabbed, trying to sit up again.

Kamakura continued to hold me down, as well as ignore my predicament. "And--"

"Kamakura, I'm going to kill you if you don't tell me," I snapped.

He didn't seem to appreciate the humor. "You can't even get up," he solemnly informed me, "And I'm holding you down with one hand."

"Kamakura, I have a right to know what's going on with my own body," I insisted.

"You have a serious concussion," Kamakura said, "I've immobilized you wrist…"

"Concuss… wrist? Kamakura!" I accused, "What are you saying?"

Kamakura shook his head sadly. "Why here?" He asked Pepsi, who now sat perched on my chest, purring softly.

"Kamakura--"

"Hush!" He said furiously, "I'm trying to think." I closed my mouth. Turning to Pepsi, Kamakura sighed. "Pepsi, do you think you could go out of the cave?"

Pepsi glanced at the cave mouth, shuddered and let out a feeble "Chih," as a yes.

"Okay Pepsi, I need you to take a pop tart to a man dressed entirely in black, with even his face covered. He might seem a little scary, but he's my friend. And a girl, who looks kind of like Storm Shadow. Only, she's just slightly more girly."

"Kamakura," I warned. Just because I was incapacitated now…

"Sorry. I couldn't resist. Anyway," He said, turning to Pepsi, "Do you think you can do it?"

"Chih!" Pepsi said bravely.

"Don't eat the Pop-tart. Take it to Snake Eyes, the man in black. And lead them here. I'll be waiting. And please," Kamakura paused, "please hurry."

"Kamakura, I'm fine," I snapped.

"No, you're not." Kamakura responded as Pepsi bounded up the rock pile, guided by the light emerging from Kamakura's headlamp, "And don't keep trying to tell me that you are."

"Kamakura, I've been hit in the head before," I snapped. "I _am_ a martial artist."

Kamakura glared at me, shaking his head irritably. "Take a stab at how long you were out," he challenged.

"A few hours?" I guessed, trying to sit up.

"Three days," He snapped, pushing me back down.

"Three days…? You're joking!" I snapped, struggling against his hand.

"No, I'm serious! You woke up on the second day for a few minutes…and you were totally out of it."

I shook my head. "But I'm fine now."

"No, you have a broken wrist," Kamakura snapped. "Are you even listening to me?!"

"Broken wrist?" I asked, glancing at my arms.

"Yes, a broken wrist," Kamakura answered. "That's why I sent Pepsi to try and find Snake Eyes. You've got a broken wrist and a bad concussion. Your swollen brain added to an already swelled head _can't_ be a good combination," He snapped, glaring at me.

I squinted my eyes shut to block out the headlamp's light. "Kamakura, Pepsi won't make it in time," I told him. "They're probably long gone, waiting to rub in our faces that they won."

"I've sent him out every day," Kamakura snapped, "Do you honestly think I'm so stupid the idea to send out Pepsi just occurred to me?!"

I sighed. "Maybe not. But he hasn't found Snake or Jinx yet?"

"No, he hasn't found anyone. Maybe today…" Kamakura sighed.

"Maybe they're taking their time," I suggested. "Even though it was the easy side, they couldn't have gotten to the top in two days."

"Yeah," Kamakura agreed, falling silent.

I wondered if my wrist was really broken. I tried to move it and grimaced at the shrieking streaks of pain that ran up my arm. Yep, it was broken. Hissing, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"I said not to move," Kamakura chided gently.

"Sorry," I snapped.

"_Now_ you are." Kamakura sighed, once again silent. I wondered what he'd been doing for three days, besides eating Pop-tarts. As I wondered, I settled back and waited for Pepsi to return…

* * *

"Chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiih!!" Pepsi bounded in the cave and tumbled into my lap. I patted him gently with my right hand, my left hand sitting off to the side, wrist bound in a tight wrapping that looked suspiciously unlike the triangle bandage I had packed in my backpack.

"Hey boy," I said. It was day three since I had woken up, and I had drifted in and out of consciousness. Sometimes Pepsi and been there, sometimes he hadn't. One thing was constant.

We were still trapped.

I heard some scuffling noises outside the cave, and Kamakura sat up, glancing at the small opening.

"Hello? Is someone in there?" the echoing cry came from somewhere outside.

"YES!!" Kamakura yelled, jumping to his feet. I wasn't sure if it was an answer or a cry of victory.

"There are people in there?" Another voice called from further away. "Hang on!" The first girl called, "I'll go get my boyfriend!"

"That isn't Jinx," Kamakura noted.

Pepsi 'chihed' sadly.

"That's ok, bud," I said. "At least you found someone."

"Chih…"

Some rocks were moved aside at the top of the blockade. I strained to see as something blocked the little bit of light coming in. It could have been a face, but I wasn't sure because a splitting headache chose that moment to resurface, and its intensity was so overpowering I immediately lost consciousness.

* * *

A/N: The plot thickens! Kamakura gets some punch lines! Storm Shadow is incapacitated! And what the heck happened to Snake Eyes and Jinx? Stick around, and we'll find out together!


	6. Timely Rescues and Squashed Plants

**Chapter 6: Timely Rescues and Squashed Plants**

A burning sensation in my left wrist brought me back. I saw Kamakura working at the wall on one side, and the other people on the other side.

"There," Some guy's voice said, "That's enough room for you to crawl through."

"Yeah, but not my friend," Kamakura answered.

"Friend?" asked one of the girls. "Why isn't he helping?"

"Hmm, good question," Kamakura replied with a bit of a bite to his sarcasm. "Hey, Storm Shadow! Are you not working because of the fainting spells from your head injury, or because of your broken wrist?"

"I didn't mean… oops," the girl muttered.

"Storm Shadow?" Asked the other girl. Well, okay, _young woman_. They both sounded about in their mid-twenties.

"Yeah," Kamakura answered shortly.

"Sorry!" called the other girl, the one who had asked about me.

"That's ok!" I yelled. "Sorry to be such a bother!" I sighed as my voice echoed around the cave.

"Don't worry. We won't leave you to rot," said the first girl. (The one who hadn't asked about me.) Boy, this was getting confusing. I needed to learn some names.

They cleared away some more of the debris, and with all four of them working, it still took about two hours to make a hole big enough for Kamakura to fit through without having to squirm. I slipped in and out of consciousness throughout the process.

"Sensei," Kamakura whispered.

"Hmm?" I murmured, feeling light-headed.

"There's enough room at the top now. I know the farthest you've gotten is the position you're in right now, sitting , but do you think you could try?"

"We ran out of our emergency water last night, Kamakura. I'm willing to try just about anything," I answered. "Besides, this stone floor is killing my butt."

Kamakura carefully reached around my chest and helped me to my feet, acting rather like a human crutch. It felt like all the blood drained from my head and my knees buckled. Kamakura held on to me until I could get my legs underneath me, and we started up the rocks. I kept my wrist tight to my chest. "Kamakura," I whispered, "Not a word about how I really broke my wrist. Falling over. That's not very dignified."

"It does sound kind of silly, doesn't it?" he muttered, glancing at me with a grin.

"Just let them think I broke it in the cave-in," I insisted.

"Okay, I guess," Kamakura finally agreed.

"Thanks," I said, picking my way up the pile.

Kamakura nodded. "Watch your step, the rock up ahead is a bit wobbly."

"Right," I said, carefully placing my foot on the rock.

"You guys coming?" the guy asked, poking his head into the hole.

"Yeah. We're taking it slow. He was unconscious for almost three days," Kamakura noted.

"Really?" the guy asked, pulling his head back out.

"Yeah, really," Kamakura insisted, hunching forward, a bad move, as it turned out.

I stepped on a loose rock and slipped, grabbing Kamakura at the same time he grabbed me. His hand hit my chest and wrist. I took a few deep breaths as the shooting pains raced up my arm. Gritting my teeth, I took another step, willing myself to remain conscious.

"Sorry," Kamakura said.

"What happened?" the guy at the entrance asked.

"He slipped and I accidentally bumped his broken wrist." Kamakura answered, watching my step for me as I struggled to remain upright despite the waves of nausea that were coming faster and with more intensity. I was glad I hadn't eaten anything, or I probably would have lost it. Breathing shallowly, trying to concentrate on moving towards the entrance, I put one foot in front of the other, focusing on that simple action. Kamakura helped me to the entrance and I slowly crawled out. The guy helped me out and froze, looking at me.

"What the…" He said. I looked up.

"Hi," I said slowly.

"Y-Yeah…" He said slowly, eyeing my shinobi shozoku 'costume'.

"Yeah, um, this is Storm Shadow," Kamakura said, stepping forward.

"Storm Shadow?" the guy asked, "That's an interesting name."

I sighed. "Um, yeah."

Kamakura and the guy helped me down the rocks on this side, until we reached the bottom. When we did, I was greeted by girl 1, who turned out to be a blond-haired girl with an outfit wholly inadequate for hiking… or clearing out a cave-in.

"You hungry?" Asked the girl.

I shook my head very, very slowly. Even that was enough to make me dizzy. I closed my eyes and took a breath, fighting back the queasiness in my stomach. And head. Yes, yes, I know it sounds weird, but if you ever get queasy in your head you'll know what I'm talking about. I guess another word for it could be vertigo, but it wasn't quite…

Since my legs weren't entirely sure where the ground was, I quickly sat down and stared at a rock lying on the ground. It was kind of round, and there was plant underneath it, struggling to grow under the rock's perpetual pressure. I reached out and picked the rock off of the plant.

_There you are, little buddy. Good luck in life. It's not so easy, is it?_

"Chiiiih!!" Pepsi screeched, running up my leg and plopping contentedly in my lap, where he immediately began purring, closely followed by what I had eventually recognized as snoring.

I continued staring at the plant. I wasn't going crazy, though I'm sure it sounds like it. I was just concentrating on something other than my head and wrist.

A foot smashed the plant into the ground. I slowly looked up to see girl 2 staring at me. She was tall, with long black hair and Asian features.

"How did you break your wrist?" She asked me.

"I honestly can't tell you." I said. "I mean, I got knocked around. I'm not sure how any of it really happened."

"Knocked around?" She raised an eyebrow, as if to say, '_what kind of description was that?_'

"We were in a cave-in. Are you implying that you can't be hit on the head during a cave-in?" I snapped, staring at her foot, where she'd squashed the poor plant.

"No, I just want to know what you were doing in the cave in the first place," she snapped. "You totally ruined my birthday backpacking trip."

"Well, I'm sorry. Next time I'll ask fate to wait until the next group of people come along," I answered.

Sighing, girl 2 put her hands on her hips and glared at me. "Do you live in the cave?"

"Oh, you mean 'why we were out in the wilderness,' right? " I asked, understanding.

She nodded.

"We were training," I answered.

She snorted. "Yeah, what are you anyway, some sort of cult?"

I shook my head. "Never mind."

"And who's the other guy?!" She demanded. "He says his name is Kamakura, but he's not even Chinese!"

"Eh, Kamakura is Japanese," I said.

"Really? He totally doesn't look like any Japanese people I've ever met!" She exclaimed.

"No, I meant the _name,_" I snapped, shaking my head.

"Why did his parents give him a Japanese name? He's like… 100 American," she said.

"Ask Kamakura," I snapped.

"Oh." She thought about that for a moment, and then left me to stare at the poor squashed plant.

_Life just got harder, buddy,_ I thought at the pathetic thing. _My sympathies._


End file.
